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Code of Character: Field Report #3

We’re excited to share the progress that the Code of Character team has made since we were together in Atlanta last March. We're now ready to begin further refinement of the initial lines of code the NERC HP workshop participants created. There are three key areas that we’ve recently been focusing on to bring clarity to the task of developing the Utility Industry Code of Character.

Scientific Research: We've researched and uncovered additional cognitive, emotional, and physiological drivers that tend to influence our behaviors both positively and negatively. Understanding these drivers can play a critical role in equipping our workers to perform with Character.

Launch of a 12-hour Character Workshop: We recently launched a 12-hour workshop for job site leaders to test these concepts. A few outcomes became clear:

Participants immediately saw the linkage between safety performance and Character. We heard rich discussions about how focusing on Character can mitigate distractions that stem from emotional distress (e.g., arguing with a significant other, facing high work demands, experiencing client/supervisor strain) among other connections.

Participants saw it in their personal interest to become aware of character-based concepts and to create a personalized development plan to enhance their critical thinking and decision making while working in a hazardous environment. They recognized that their personal safety was primarily at stake.

Participants understood that mastering Character is a personal choice and they sincerely appreciated the developmental tools. Each participant left the workshop with a personalized learning plan to strengthen their Workplace Character.

Building the Code of Character Working Team: We’ve been talking to HP experts across the industry to design a team to assist with the development of the Utility Code of Character.

The next step in our journey is to have a series of webinars that bring together utility professionals to share what we’ve found and to enhance and finalize the Lines of Character Code that we started in Atlanta.

We're inviting all of those who participated in the NERC HP Conference character workshops and any and all others who wish to participate in this effort. This includes line leaders, safety and training professionals, representatives from IEEE, EEI, APPA, WEI and the IBEW, as well as any others who are interested. Note that our strategic partners remain T&D World and TRC Companies.

Webinar Details
We will be hosting seven to eight webinars for one hour each starting on September 12 and then every other Thursday. We will publish the topic for each webinar in the previous week’s T&DWorld Etrain enewsletter along with any registration links and/or pertinent information.

The first webinar will take place onSeptember 12 at 9 a.m. PDT (noon ET)where we willbe discussing the intersection of personal mastery, workplace character and Human Performance.

As a reminder, our next in-person meeting will take place at the annual WECC HP conference in October, but our draft due date for the Code is the annual NERC HP Conference in March 2020. We anticipate having a general statement timeslot and a workshop session.